These pedals work well. However, it took me two sets to get it right. The first set of pedals would not connect the right pedal. After hours of trouble shooting with Garmin I returned them and got a new pair of pedals that work great. Garmin's technical support is great and their customer support sent me my new pedals quickly.
I experienced signal drops on the first ride and thought it was battery related and changed. I continued to get ocasional signal drops on future rides and then an indication the right pedal was missing and then nothing, no power readings. I should have checked with the Garmin forum, lots of issues for folks. Some have zeo problems and love them but many like me having the same experience. Garmin is working on a redesign of the battery holder as well as firmware updates, not sure why they keep shipping product with known issues but no remedy.
These are my first power meter pedals and use of a power meter outside of a spin class. So far it has been a bit of a learning curve. Pluses are less bulky and lighter than the competition, syncs seamlessly with the 820 head unit, great customization of data screens, prompts calibration automatically, swappable between bikes. Minuses dont know about accuracy, cant Bluetooth connect to more than one device ie. head unit and training softwareVirtual routes for indoor training, had one ride where one pedal didnt read at all, then it kicked in- never figured out what happened, and lastly is expensive when Ive lived without one and still would rather just be riding and listening to my body. In summary, data is more novel than useful until FTP and training goals established. Still working on base miles for early spring.
I have owned many Garmin products over the years and is as usual for the company they release products and the wait for the public to find problems and then Garmin slowly and I do mean slow,y fixes them through firmware updates. I rode the Garmin Vector 2 pedals for three years and the same thing happened with those when they came out. I was hoping this would not be the case with the Vector 3 put I was wrong. They were working fine and then there was a firmware update a few weeks go to add I guess better Bluetooth connectivity and well that was the end of my pedals. I continue to get a error message that the right pedal is missing. I followed every possible recommendation ontheGarminforum and it still did not work. I talked to customer support a week ago and they were sending me out a new battery holder. I still do not have it so I have nonfunctional power unit. It is frustrating beyond belief dealing with Garmin and their products. Oh, I doubt it is the battery holder so the next step would to give me a new set of pedals. I'm sure that will take a month.
I will never buy another Garmin product.
Combined with the Garmin 1030, these provide a lot of useful information. They install like any other pedal - super easy. So it's pretty simple to move between bikes if necessary. I've had them for a month or so, and so far, I'm pretty impressed.
I love these pedals. They are super easy to install. The pedal platform is very stable and feels stiff and secure like a good Look or SPD-SL pedal. Cleat wear has been good so far. The weather seals are a little tight when you first get them, but this is actually a good thing if you ride in the rain. Power numbers has been comparable to my Quarq, so I'm happy.
This is my third power measurement system and so far easily my favorite. After using the classic power to hub system, I upgraded to a Quark crankset, which I continue to use.
I bought the Garmin pedals for a second bike. The pedals install like any other pedals which make them a much easier upgrade than the cranks. They pedals also offer additional information, such as power center offset, not available with other measurement systems.
I've found the power phase information particular helpful in improving my pedal stroke and efficiency.
I've used them for about 1000 miles and haven't had to replace the batteries yet.
I moved from Shimano Dura-ace SPD-SL pedals to these Garmin Vector 3's and was pleasantly surprised that the Garmin's feel just as solid as the Shimano pedals did. The difference obviously is that I can now read power via the pedals. Overall, the Garmin cleats work well and install basically the same as my old SPD-SLs.
If I had one negative to say about the pedals so far, it is that the seals on the bearings are a little tight, so the pedals don't spin as freely as my previous Shimano pedals. which means sometimes they are in a weird position when you clip in. I'm assuming these seals will loosen up after a few more months of training.
I bought a ton of batteries (They are cheap) in anticipation that I would need to change these out fairly often, but I'm up to 30 hours or so of riding and no need to change so far.
Overall, very happy with the Garmin pedals and they are super easy to install and move from bike to bike. That's going to be a big help for me later in the season when I move the pedals from my road bike to my time trial bike and back.
